Krist Novoselic

Krist Anthony Novoselic (/ˌnoʊvəˈsɛlɪtʃ/; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician, politician, and activist. Novoselic co-founded and played bass on every album for the rock band Nirvana.

Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987, soon recruiting drummer Aaron Burckhard, who was the drummer of the group until October 1987. Through the late 1980s, Nirvana established themselves as part of the Seattle grunge scene, releasing three albums between 1989 and 1993. Nirvana abruptly ended in 1994 following the death of Kurt Cobain. Novoselic has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Nirvana, and has also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the band.

After Nirvana disbanded, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 in 1995 and Eyes Adrift in 2002, releasing one album with each band. From 2006 to 2009, he played in the punk rock band Flipper. In 2011, he contributed bass and accordion to the song "I Should Have Known" on the Foo Fighters' studio album Wasting Light. From 2017 to 2020, he played bass and accordion for the band Giants in the Trees.

Outside of music, Novoselic has been active politically. From 2007 through 2010, he wrote a weekly column on music and politics for the Seattle Weekly website. Novoselic has served on the board of the electoral reform organization FairVote and has served as its chair. In 2020, he became board chair of Zócalo Public Square. He joined the Forward Party in 2023 and became the party's leader in Washington after the resignation of Chris Vance. In 2024, he founded the Cascade Party of Washington.

Krist Anthony Novoselic was born in Compton, California, on May 16, 1965, the son of Croatian immigrants Kristo Novaselić and Marija Mustać. Kristo was a native of Veli Iž on the island of Iž while Marija originates from Privlaka. The original Croatian surname of Novaselić was mistakenly changed to Novoselic by a clerk when Kristo was applying for a passport to go to America. Novoselic lived in Compton for one year before his parents moved to the ethnically Croatian Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro. His first language is Croatian. He has a younger brother and a younger sister. In 1979, his family relocated to Aberdeen, Washington. In 1980, his parents sent him to live with relatives in Zadar, Croatia, Yugoslavia. He returned to Aberdeen in 1981. His earliest memory of listening to music is listening to Chuck Berry with his father. Growing up, he had a severe underbite, for which he underwent corrective surgery.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.